Weekend's Business Holiday: Bored with Bali? Try Lombok, Indonesia

Been to Bali too often? Bored with the hustlers, the traffic and the super-chic mafia? Just a strait away or accessible direct from Jakarta or Surabaya is Lombok, much quieter and with much of the same charm and arguably even richer ecology than its more famous neighbor.

I confess I'm one who has decided enough is enough with Bali. I haven't been there for years, much as I used to enjoy wandering the shops in Kuta, the ambience of Kudeta and the jet set feel of Seminyak.

Former Tourism and Culture Minister Joop Ave used to brag that "we've got Bali and much more." Lombok was one of the places he was talking about. The western coast shares the culture of Bali, is physically beautiful and certainly has no shortage of attractive places to stay.

Lombok doesn't have anywhere near the variety, but for the traveler who prefers the quiet life at least some of the time this is no obstacle. As we all know, you can make fun anywhere in the world with the right friends.

Lombok was always planned to take the overflow from Bali. In fact, little has moved on the island for the past 10 years. The tourist millions failed to eventuate, at least not in the numbers that the hoteliers hoped for, and Lombok's tourist industry suffered particularly badly after the terrorist bombing accross the water in 2002.

On the plus side, that means no traffic jams and a trip from the airport to the Senggigi beach strip will take a relaxed half hour.

A new international airport is planned that is likely to extend that journey, but in general getting around Lombok is a lot less trouble-free than braving the Bali roads.

One change that has occured in Lombok is the success of the trio of Gili backpacker islands (the word gili actually means island): Gili Trawangan, Gili Airand and Gili Meno). Easily accessible from main centers on Lombok, they are a charming throwback to past leisure that has caught off with the budget set.

The island is effectively divided down an ethnic divide. The west, including Senggigi, is populated by people of Balinese descent, who are Hindu, while the rest of the island is Muslim, dominated by the Sasak ethnic group.

While the styles of the two ethnic grops are dramatically different, everyone gets on well together. Intermarriage is common and for most people on Lombok mixing beliefs is nothing to be concerned about.

"Both the husband and the wife are welcome to follow their own religions and the children are brought up understanding both, then they can choose which religion they want to adopt when they are old enough," says one local.

But, he admits, the tolerance is starting to erode a little in line with the polarization of religions elsewhere in the country, and some families are starting to object to inter-marriage.

Others prefer to have a foot in each camp, officially subscribing to Islam but also practicing Hindu and animist rituals. To complicate the religious map, there is a community of pribumi Buddhists at Pemenang in the north of the island, a leftover from earlier days.

There is no shortage of history. Some proud Lombok people remember the days of Karangasem empire in the 19th century, which rules as far as East Java. The peak of that empire came when the ruler lived in Lombok, not aross the strait in Bali.

Reveling in dramatic mountain-meets-beach scenery, a touch of history and a rich natural environment, with a particularly rich maritime environment (despite the bomb fishing), the island is not in any way short on creature comforts.

Lombok's priciest hotel is without a doubt the Oberoi, tucked away on the northwest coast. Described on the hotel's website as "a hideaway with acres of tropical gardens, shimmering ocean and golden sands along a private beach," it does have - like the Oberoi chain in general - a reputation for doing things well.

Nor is it cheap. A luxury villa with garden view - for some reason more expensive than the ocean view - will set you back $709 in the high season, but you do get your own pool if you don't like slumming in the main pool.

For some, that's affordable. In June, Peer Lausen of Denmark spent time there. "Great hotel, a bit isolated so don't expect a lot activities outside the resort but the resort has everything one would need so there are no need to go ouside," he recalls. "Perfect place for a honeymoon."

Yachties' choice

The Oberoi has its supporters for other reasons than the accommodation. The yacht set says it has the only real facility for mooring. Your own boat is of course the perfect vehicle to check out the smaller islands that ring Lombok. The best known is Gili Trawangan, but there are other less discovered gems.

Nor do you have to be a millionaire to enjoy Lombok. On my most recent visit, I stayed at the Sheraton, which was offering a resident's rate of Rp 875,000++ for a hotel that's difficult to fault, even if it's not as ritzy as the Oberoi. No cotton buds in the bathroom? Well, you can't have everything.

The Gills are even more affordable and offer something of a flashback to the hippie era with signs for "magic mushrooms" all over the islands. And there's luxury even there if you can't stand the homestays.

The Lombok Hotel on Gili Air may not be as flash as the Oberoi, but it comes at the much cheaper price of $82++ for a double in its most luxurious rooms, with standard, fan-cooled rooms a mere $47.

It's worth noting that, unless bank account is bottomless, it's better to drink outside the hotel. While food prices at the Sheraton were reasonable, an evening meal with two old friends reached top-end Jakarta prices. A check of the tab revealed that four cans of Heineken beer were to blame, at Rp 60,000 each.

Tourist traps

Unless you've made the decision to spend all that hard-earned cash at the Oberoi and have settled for Senggigi or the Gilis, it's no effort to get out of the hotel. At senggigi, I preferred breakfast at the delightful Kafe Taman, where a better, freshly cooked breakfast cost me a third of the price of the buffet back at the hotel.

Senggigi's bars also keep rocking well into the night with live bands competing with each other to drag in the clientele.

Tourist traps apart, Lombok boasts some remarkable natural and cultural experiences. Mt. Rinjani is likely to be listed as a world heritage site next year, but climbing it is not for the faint of heart.

A trip to the peak involves some mountain climbing experience and will take three days of muscle-wrenching pain from your life.

The south of Lombok - also boasting a Kuta beach - is far hotter than the west coast but boasts good surfing. There are some remarkable villages featuring Lombok's distinctive ethnic architecture on the way to the south, but the inhabitants tend to expect hand-outs at every inch of the way.

The strangely named Bouldercity is another popular destination and is one of the most famous diving sites in Indonesia.

Poor community

There is a downside to Lombok, with a degree of visible desperation of some hovering on the edge of poverty.

As in Bali, there's no shortage of offers of 'transport, transport' and grabbing the first vehicle that comes along can produce a story of woe.

One driver who took me from my breakfast spot back to the hotel said it was his first fare in three days. "I've got five children to support," he lamented.

The failure of the tourism industry to take off has dashed some hopes of a better economic future, and visitors can expect to be hassled every now and then by vendors of necklaces (the pearls are cheap if not high quality), sarongs and so on.

Still, Lombok people don't blame you for the economic misfortune personally and are happy to see that some tourists still do come.

Sitting on the beach with a cool drink watching the sun set over Mt. Agung across the Lombok Strait on Bali, you can even reflect that you're lending a helping hand.

Getting to Lombok

For international travelers, getting to Lombok usually requires a transit in Denpasar, Bali. A Merpati Nusantara shuttle flies between the two islands but the service is often fully booked. Ferries, from either Benoa or Padang Bai, are an alternative, with a maximum four-hour voyage and then another hour by road from the port at Lombok.

From Jakarta, a number of direct flights operate daily with Garuda Indonesia and Lion Air.